Chanoodle Express

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Mott, Mulberry, and Elizabeth Streets are the tourist-clogged arteries in the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown. The storefronts alternate between pharmacies, tchotchke-hocking souvenir shops, and Cantonese restaurants of varying quality. Chanoodle caters to an English-speaking clientele over the Chinese locals. Instead of communal round tables with lazy Susans, diners can spread out at roomy but private square mahogany tables. The menu categories are labeled with English letter-and-number codes for easy ordering, and each place setting provides a fork and napkin, with chopsticks on request. Despite these Western warning signs, some dishes are commendable. Manila clams get wok-tossed with salty bits of minced pork, egg and scallion, then showered in crispy, golden fried garlic, and emerald sautéed pea shoots, piled high with thin slivers of garlic, are gently sweet. Skip the stringy barbecued spareribs, doused in a cloying sauce that tastes like bottled salad dressing. But don’t forget cold beer or wine; savvy patrons know to bring their own, no chopsticks required. — Ganda Suthivarakom

Fried clams with minced pork, $8.95; sautéed pea shoots with minced garlic, $9.95

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